Evanston Community Council opposes city council plan to redirect TIF funding

Notes

The meeting, called to order about 6:30 p.m. and opened with prayer, adjourned about 7:55 p.m. 

Members Present 

James Stallworth, president 

Natasha Smith, vice president 

Sharron Moon, treasurer 

Nicole Perkins, financial secretary 

Shakeita Moore, secretary (absent)

Evanston Community Council is joining the other community councils in demanding that Cincinnati City Council reject a plan to redirect tax increment financing (TIF) dollars away from community councils. 

Community Council Vice President Natasha Smith, at the Thursday night (Oct. 15) meeting at the Evanston Recreation Center, said city council was set to pass an ordinance on Oct. 14 that would allow the city to redirect at least 50% of each community’s TIF funds to a separate pot for selected development projects.  

City council’s ordinance would not touch TIF money designated for downtown and Over-The-Rhine. 

But Mayor Aftab Purval announced that city council would delay its vote – which appeared headed for passage – at least 30 days, Smith told the meeting. 

She asked community council members to join all the other dissenting community councils throughout the city in writing and/or calling the mayor and city council members to express displeasure with the plan to re-allocate TIF funds. 

Former Evanston Community Council President Gregory Stewart said, “if we don’t speak up now, we get what we get.” 

As of July 2026, the Evanston Tax Increment Finance District had a TIF balance of $3,421,149.98 according to online city records.

[The percentage of what each community receives from their IF balance has not been determined.]

“Some communities have a lot of money,” Smith said. The TIF District for Downtown/OTR East, for example, carried a balance of $22,166,402.58, according to city records.

Community Council Treasurer Sharron Moon said, “We have been utilizing the TIF money. They [city council] know that Evanston is not sleeping on developing.” 

The community council has already committed TIF funds or has plans for TIF funds for the following:

·      Omar’s Redevelopment – a mixed-use project on Montgomery Road being developed by Johnson Cooper LLC; 

·      The historic Hoffman School building – the council remains locked in a long-running conflict with preservationists and housing developers over what will happen to the building;

·      King Records – the council still is looking to redevelop the property on Brewster Avenue; 

·      St. Mark Catholic Church – the council also continues to squabble over the future of the long-vacant edifice and property, which the council wants to convert into a community center. 

According to Marye Ward, a community council committee member, a representative of the Angelico Project said the organization is interested in St. Mark. The representative would be asked to address the community council’s executive committee to share more details, Ward said.

“We need dollars,” Ward said. “Nobody wants to spin wheels with this.” 

According to Vice President Smith, the controlling interest in St. Mark wants to put it up for auction, with a starting bid of $150,000. She cautioned that $2 million would be needed just to stabilize the building. 

“We don’t have funding for that,” she said. But, “we will do what we can to support it.” 

SAFETY UPDATE: Cincinnati Police Officer Marcus McNeil said the monthly crime snapshot shows a 100% increase in aggravated assaults and a second 100% increase in burglaries. He pointed out that each incident involved single families and did not signal an outbreak in crime. 

“It looks like it’s trending down,” McNeil said when asked whether crime in Evanston was trending up. 

Smith alerted the meeting about a fake social media posting entitled “Hide & Seek from the police,” which called for people to go to the city police department on Oct. 31 to get wristbands. The viral flyer is “popping up everywhere for Halloween,” according to a post on X (formerly Twitter). While there are some legitimate posters on social media for legitimate events, “most of these posters are photoshopped hoaxes, not real police events.” Smith forwarded the post to McNeil. 

PARTY FOR SENIORS: McNeil said he has 25 tickets for a seniors’ Christmas party at New Prospect Baptist Church on Dec. 17. He asked the community council to spread the word for the tickets. Other communities will be allotted tickets to the party as well, he said. 

DRONE PATROL: Lt. Adrian Miller, who is McNeil’s supervisor, told the council that a drone Smith said she spotted recently about 12:30 a.m. while out with her dog belonged to the police department, which uses drones to respond to reports of active crime to help officers on the ground.  

“It’s definitely a huge resource for us,” the lieutenant said of the drone program. 

TO THE POLLS: Precinct Executive 3-E Melanie Moon encouraged the audience to check their voter registration status and to vote in the midterm election on Nov. 3.  

The county board of elections needs poll workers at the Evanston Recreation Center  and workers to canvass the neighborhood to knock on doors, she said, noting that one in five Evanston residents actually votes.  

“You need to vote as though you are expecting something,” Smith told the audience.

DEMS CLUB: Moon also encouraged people to join the Evanston Dems Club, an independent Democratic club affiliated with the Hamilton County Democratic Party. The club will meet monthly at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1809 Rutland Ave. Interested people can visit evanstondemsclub.org. Moon is EC vice chair. 

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